{"id":20825,"date":"2017-07-07T20:31:54","date_gmt":"2017-07-08T00:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=20825"},"modified":"2017-07-13T20:34:07","modified_gmt":"2017-07-14T00:34:07","slug":"payne-toyota-c-hr-a-stormtrooper-helmet-on-wheels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/payne-toyota-c-hr-a-stormtrooper-helmet-on-wheels","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Toyota C-HR a stormtrooper helmet on wheels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"chr_payne\"<\/p>\n<\/div>

Concerned that everything is starting to look the same? Same suburban tract housing? Same workplace cubicles? Same ol\u2019 five-door SUVs?<\/p>\n

Good news, friends. The\u00a0Toyota C-HR<\/a>\u00a0offers a little escapism.<\/p>\n

It would appear that Toyota has moved its design studio to Hollywood, because this once-dowdy appliance-maker is turning out vehicles that belong in science-fiction films. First came Lexus with a spindle grille so fearsome it might have have been approved by Lord Darth Vader himself. Then Toyota\u00a0stunned last fall\u2019s LA Auto Show<\/a>\u00a0with its new C-HR compact crossover which appeared to have been shipped over from a Lucasfilm stage.<\/p>\n

A white and black C-HR arrived in my driveway this summer looking like someone had grafted a \u201cStar Wars\u201d stormtrooper helmet<\/a>\u00a0on a \u201cTron\u201d Light Cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With its slit front headlights, huge wheels and \u201cdistinctive diamond\u201d design philosophy, it shames big brother RAV-4\u2019s conservative wardrobe. It deserves a place alongside the BMW i3 and Kia Soul for most funk-a-riffic vehicle. As the auto world splits between SUVs and sedans, these hatchbacks seek a third way: segment busters with a bold mix of ingredients. The i3 breaks out as an electric hatch. The Kia Soul is a peppy toaster. And the rad C-HR (for \u201cCoupe-High Rider\u201d) brings flashy, chase-scene handlin<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Toyota advertises the C-HR as a crossover, but\u00a0the EPA classifies it<\/a>\u00a0as a compact hatchback. Indeed, it is only an inch higher than my favorite fun-hatch, the VW Golf, and has the personality of another crossover-in-hatch-drag, the Mazda CX-3.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Climb aboard and the sci-fi scene continues. The exterior\u2019s \u201cRoboCop\u201d mask theme continues across the dash which holds a pop-up navigation screen for easy forward visibility. The instrument display features twin, oval clusters with a leather-wrapped shifter at my hand \u2014 a much-improved effort over past, notchy Toyota efforts. Then there\u2019s a back-up camera with the display located \u2014 not in the console \u2014 but in the rear-view mirror.\u00a0Viva la difference<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Turn on the C-HR and it\u2019s clear this Happy Meal toy wants to play.<\/p>\n

The C-HR was trained on Nurburgring\u2019s epic, 14-mile racetrack and it shares its platform with the new Camry \u2014 another appliance that has made the transition to the sporting goods department.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Sitting on an athletic, double-wishbone rear suspension, I rotated the C-HR into Oakland County\u2019s lake roads and the hatch bit like a tick, holding the apex and begging for more throttle.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s still begging.<\/p>\n

When the \u201cTron\u201d-mobile left the studio for the track, apparently the only thing lying around the locker room was a pair of hiking boots. Driven by Toyota\u2019s uninspiring 144-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-banger mated to a continuously-variable tranny, the C-HR is Luke Skywalker wielding a rolling pin. Captain America with a trash can lid. Optimus Prime with a pop-gun.<\/p>\n

Car and Driver\u2019s gearheads clocked the C-HR from zero-60 in\u00a0Prius-like 10.2 seconds<\/a>and that seems like modest reading.<\/p>\n

The C-HR is full of such contradictions. My base, gym-toned XSE is a\u00a0mixed bag of features<\/a>\u00a0compared to its competitive set where tradeoffs are necessary to come in on budget.<\/p>\n

As a crossover it lacks the all-wheel drive of the\u00a0similarly priced Mazda CX-3<\/a>. But compared to the front-wheel drive funky hatch competitor\u00a0Kia Soul Turbo<\/a>, it\u2019s down 57 horses \u2013 144 versus 201. The CX-3, Soul Turbo, and\u00a0Golf Wolfsburg<\/a>\u00a0all come standard with push-button start, but the futuristic Toyota still requires a 20th-century key and (strangely for a car aimed at Millennials) lacks smartphone app connectivity. But the C-HR steps up with first-in-class collision brake-assist, adaptive cruise-control, fold-flat rear seats \u2013 and gee-whiz options like two-tone paint schemes and automatic high beams.<\/p>\n

Sci-fi styling requires compromise, too. Suspended above those Tron Light Cycle rocker panels is a floating roof and slit windows that taper to shoulder-height door handles. Cool. But that creates a blind spot the size of Manhattan (time to upgrade to the $25,000 Premium model). Put a passenger in the back seat and they\u2019ll have less sunlight than a Turkish prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dark back here!\u201d my friend Laurie exclaimed as she peered around the C-pillar.<\/p>\n

So the C-HR is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n

Credit the Toyota with simplicity of price, a leftover from its Scion, one-size-fits-all roots. My base XSE comes in at $23,460. The Premium package is $2,000 north. Simple. No haggle.<\/p>\n

And no same ol\u2019, same ol\u2019. In a summer of sequels, the C-HR is a sci-fi original.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concerned that everything is starting to look the same? Same suburban tract housing? Same workplace cubicles? Same ol\u2019 five-door SUVs? Good news, friends. The\u00a0Toyota C-HR\u00a0offers a little escapism. It would appear that Toyota has moved its design studio to Hollywood, because this once-dowdy appliance-maker is turning out vehicles that belong in science-fiction films. First came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20825"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20826,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20825\/revisions\/20826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}